What camera?

ben bedlam

Hi,
Im thinking of investing in a fairly good camera. Im going to Kilimanjaro in summer and would love a good camera with a great lens to take some stunning shots there. Also, I would need something with film capability. Any recommendations guys?

CabanSail

Budget?

Size?

DSLR/Bridge?

Mycroft H

ben bedlam wrote: »

Hi,
Im thinking of investing in a fairly good camera. Im going to Kilimanjaro in summer and would love a good camera with a great lens to take some stunning shots there. Also, I would need something with film capability. Any recommendations guys?

Film? As in 35mm camera film? Or to record video?

AnCatDubh

ben bedlam wrote: »

Hi,
Im thinking of investing in a fairly good camera. Im going to Kilimanjaro in summer and would love a good camera with a great lens to take some stunning shots there. Also, I would need something with film capability. Any recommendations guys?

Not withstanding what great recommendations come back to you - taking stunning shots will take effort and a learning curve which is pretty steep given your trip is in summertime (no un-do-able but a little tight on time).

Its amazing how an expensive DSLR (or P&S for that matter) can turn out the most woeful of shots if it isn't handled correctly. So make sure to do your bit of advanced learning before you go. Even non camera things will make a big difference to your images like composition, framing, light, simplification, colour, contrast, etc... Then you need to be able to tell the camera how you want the above to be handled.

Good luck on what looks like it is likely to be a great trip.

sunny2004

nikon D90 ?

Without the questions mentioned above its hard to give advice. But if you are embarking on such a trip you will need to practice practice practice

ben bedlam

Sorry folks, Ive been looking into the Nikon D90.

KylieWyley

yeah, I was looking into getting one of these also..

what was deterring me from getting this was the high resolution video capability they are using to market this thing? strikes me as a bit 'gimmicky'. is the price reflecting this unnecessary function?
i.e. could a similar quality camera (minus video recorder) be purchased for a lesser price or could a greater quality camera be purchased for an equivalent price?

ben bedlam

KylieWyley wrote: »

yeah, I was looking into getting one of these also..

what was deterring me from getting this was the high resolution video capability they are using to market this thing? strikes me as a bit 'gimmicky'. is the price reflecting this unnecessary function?
i.e. could a similar quality camera (minus video recorder) be purchased for a lesser price or could a greater quality camera be purchased for an equivalent price?

My thoughts exactly Kylie. Plus ive found prices on the D90 vary greatly.

KylieWyley

Does any1 own it? Can any1 comment?

sunny2004

I own it, its a great camera for the price...
Video i cant comment on as I am also a professional Videographer so use pro gear and its a DSLR after all so it has restrictions for shooting video not to mention the amount of cards you will require if you use it for both.
My advice is carry a cheap mini dvd camcorder as well !

KylieWyley

i wouldn't be using it for video, nor would i think is bedbedlam.

are the camera features good value for money or have the video capabilities served to bunk up the price?/
its a shame that its lost the nikon meter on top

houseoffun14

You won't go to far wrong with either Canon or Nikon. What is important is the lenses you use. The better the quailty lens the better the resulting file.
However getting stunning images will take practice.

GhostInTheRuins

D90 is an excellent camera, you won't be disapointed. I know what you're saying about the video mode being a bit gimmicky, and to be honest it is, but it doesn't take away from the other 'normal' camera functions at all.

colblimp

I own a D90 and, although I've only had it for a couple of weeks, find it easy to get on with. The menu's are easy to navigate through, all the button's and dials are in the places you'd expect them to be in and it's just a stunning piece of kit.

As for the video mode, I haven't used it, and don't intend to use it - I bought it as an SLR - if I want to video something, I just use my Sony video thingy...

Just take on board what AnCatDubh said - learn about photography before you go. I'd expect you to be taking thousands of shots before your holiday, just to learn how to use the camera and learn about photography in general. A good test is to lock yourself in your bathroom and take 40 - 50 shots in there. If you come out with some good images, you're halfway there in regards to subject matter and composition...

I bought mine from Warehouseexpress.com for £744.99 with the 18 - 105 kit lens, but you might want to try Microglobe...

KylieWyley

i seem to be hijacking bens thread (sorry! hope i'm asking questions that help you too though )

whats image quality like at high ISOs? (3200 seems high... but when you consider it starts at 200, rather than 50 or 100... is 3200 nikon no more sensitive than 1600 canon?)

Slidinginfinity

Bought a D90 about a month ago. Love it! I could not possibly find enough words to say how happy I am with both its still and video capabilities.

For day to day shooting I would suggest getting the 18-105 lens package.

spav

I was looking at getting a D90 for a while, and didn't find a single bad review on it. The samples I've seen from the video aren't bad - not camcorder standard by any means, but better than your average video mode on a compact.

The 18-105 kit is around €1,000 on the high street, a bit (but not a lot) cheaper online.

If you're based in Dublin, I passed Bermingham Cameras on the quays on Monday, and they had 2 used ('A stock' - I *think* that means ex-demo) D90s for sale. Think it was €850 for the 18-105 kit, and €695 for the body only.

And just a word about getting good images on SLR cameras. As the other say, a good camera doesn't mean good images necessarily. However, I would say that an SLR makes getting good images so much easier. You have so much more control, and on the likes of the D90 you have so many genuinely usable preset modes that the learning curve doesn't have to be intimidatingly steep. I got my first SLR about 10 months ago, and was very surprised how much my photography improved within a short period of time. Though the longer you have it ahead of your big trip the better of course. SLR prices seem to be going up at the moment (Nikon have announced 2 price rises in recent months), so unlike a lot of things there's no point in hanging around if you have the money already saved.

spav

KylieWyley wrote: »

yeah, I was looking into getting one of these also..

what was deterring me from getting this was the high resolution video capability they are using to market this thing? strikes me as a bit 'gimmicky'. is the price reflecting this unnecessary function?
i.e. could a similar quality camera (minus video recorder) be purchased for a lesser price or could a greater quality camera be purchased for an equivalent price?

From what I gather about the current Nikon range, the answer to this question is no. No sure about Canon however.

The D90 is miles better than any of the 'consumer' Nikons (D40 to D80), and most reviews suggest that it's also a good deal better than the entry-level 'prosumer' cameras (e.g. D200). Newer technology y'see. You don't seem to pay much a premium for the video, the D90 seems to be a similar price to other top-of-the-range consumer cameras.

The next viable camera up from the D90 is the D300. It's the D90's more powerful brother, but it's priced to match - €1,100, body only I believe. You don't get video mode with that.

Slidinginfinity

I as I said bought my D90 about a month ago. Bought it at Bermingham Cameras, and it was 100 euro cheaper than everywhere else I looked. The video may seem gimmicky but it performs very well the only draw back on the video is it has a 5 minute limit regardless of card size.